Social media can be a powerful tool for Extension educators to expand their reach and engage with clients. Communities of practice and state systems are increasingly using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media as part of their programming efforts. This presents challenges for program evaluation as traditional evaluation methods rely on information not always available in social media.

In this session, Sarah Baughman (http://www.scoop.it/u/sarah-baughman) situates social media in the context of program evaluation and offers tips and suggestions for evaluating social media activities. Emphasis will be placed on tools to help measure reach and engagement through social media.

A conversation with Roslynn Brain, Utah State University, about using positive messaging and social media to reach new Extension clientele in sustainability outreach. Roslynn will present a session on that topic at the 2014 National eXtension Conference.

A conversation with Chris Boleman and Courtney Dodd from Texas 4-H Youth Development about their use of Twitter and Ustream. We talk about the Texas 4-H tweet-ups (#tx4hconvo) and about "Leadership Live," a live leadership event steamed online.

Bob Bertsch's insight:

I am finally back producing the Working Differently in Extension podcast. This is the first in a series featuring speakers from the 2014 National eXtension Conference taking place March 24-27 in Sacramento, CA. (http://conference.extension.org)

A conversation with Eric Stafne, associate Extension professor at Mississippi State and administrative director of the National Grape Community of Practice, about his Journal of Extension article, "A View of Digital Scholarship in Extension."...

It was a great privilege to talk to my good friend, Steve Judd on the latest podcast. Steve is the chair of the eXtension Network Literacy Community of Practice. He shared great insight into the importance on online networks and the difficulties leading a community.

“Our program is really focused on whole-person wellness. We want to include that socialization aspect with the physical activity,” said Jennifer Margrett, an associate professor of human development and family studies and director of the gerontology program. “By socializing and doing interactive games, older adults are also exercising their brains, building relationships, and so it helps in more than one way.”

A conversation with University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota State Economist Laura Kalambokidis. Laura discusses her work on "Building Extension's Public Value."

Bob Bertsch's insight:

In case I haven't said it before, it is really gratifying to have conversations with incredibly smart people about their work and the things they care about.

My conversation with Laura Kalambokidis centers on "Building Extension's Public Value," but it also touches on evaluation, programming and being an unbiased researcher dealing with people pushing their political agendas.

Dan Schawbel, expert on millennials in the workforce, interviewed by Jeremiah Owyang:

Bob Bertsch's insight:

There are some really good insights in this interview. Cooperative Extension needs to pay attention to this, not only because we should be reaching millenials as customers, but also because they are working within our organization.

"If you want to sell to millennials, you have to build a strong brand personality, connect with them on social networks, align yourself with a cause, have an open culture and include their opinions as you build new products. They want custom brand experiences that take their wants and needs into account. If you want to retain them as workers, you need to invest in their careers, mentor them, provide them with internal hiring opportunities and feed their entrepreneurial ambitions."

A conversation with Colleen Brady, Purdue University, about her upcoming session, "Digging into HorseQuest Social Media Stats: What drives our clientele to activity?" at the 2014 National eXtension Conference.

Bob Bertsch's insight:

I've been taking advantage of the Nation eXtension Conference to invite #nexconf presenters to the podcast. It's been great to talk with the guests about work they are really enthused about. Colleen and her community of practice have been doing incredible work for years.

A discussion of the study Kim Allen, Nichole Huff and Dede Nelson of NC State conducted that created and validated a social media self-efficacy scale.

Bob Bertsch's insight:

It was great to talk with Kim, Nichole and Dede about their study. The social media self-efficacy scale and the idea of social media competencies could be really important in helping Extension professionals become social media savvy.

A conversation with Mark Lubell, University of California Davis, about Extension 3.0: Outreach and Education in the Age of Connectivity, his effort to evolve land grant universities to accelerate sustainable agricultural innovation by capitalizing...

Melissa Cater, LSU AgCenter Organizational Development & Evaluation, talks with us about a study of Extension faculty's preferences for and perceptions of using an online, particularly social media, environment for professional development.

Bob Bertsch's insight:

I talked with Melissa about the Journal of Extension article she co-authored, "A Study of Extension Professionals Preferences and Perceptions of Usefulness and Level of Comfort with Blogs as an Informal Professional Development Tool," http://www.joe.org/joe/2013august/a6.php

Yes, the world is changing. Wonderful and powerful new technologies are emerging that allow us to engage the public in new ways. We can reach people more quickly, effectively and efficiently. I believe a day will come in the not so distant future where much of our program and information delivery will rely on these new tools. Extension Agents and Specialists who don't adopt these new technologies are missing an opportunity and risk becoming less relevant.

In the case of wearable computers, such as Google Glass, this is perhaps more aptly phrased, “Look, Mom, both hands” —one of the reasons why three technology experts believe that wearable computers could make steep inroads into several facets of farming.

Bob Bertsch's insight:

Great article on the potential of wearble computer in agriculture.Thanks to Jim Langcuster for writing the article and sharing it.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.